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Sarmiento, Saguaros continue to roll

Sarmiento, Saguaros continue to roll

Lately, it seems like it doesn't matter who the Saguaros play, the results tend to be the same.

Elio Sarmiento drove in a pair of runs as Surprise defeated Scottsdale, 5-4, on Wednesday to win its fourth straight game.

The Rangers catching prospect extended the Saguaros lead to 2-0 with an RBI infield single in the second inning. Two innings later, Sarmiento laced a single to left field, scoring Paul Gran (Marlins) but was thrown out trying to advance to second base.

Sarmiento has played in just seven of Surprise's 25 games this season, in part because of the presence of Christian Bethancourt (Braves) and Kyle Skipworth (Marlins) on the club's roster. The 25-year-old backstop is batting .241 with a homer and four RBIs for the first-place Saguaros, but has shown signs of life over his last three games, as he's gone 5-for-12 over that time.

Surprise extended its lead over the Peoria Javelinas in the AFL West to seven with 12 games left on the schedule. Three of those games will come against the Javelinas, giving the Saguaros a chance to wrap up a trip to the AFL Championship Game even sooner.

Mike Olt, the Rangers' No. 7 prospect, extended his hitting streak to seven games with a seventh-inning single and drove in a run. Fellow Texas farmhand Ryan Strausborger raised his average to .314 with 4-for-4 performance.

Rays prospect Shane Dyer (2-0) picked up the win after allowing two runs on four hits and striking out three over five innings. Brandon Lafferty (Royals) contributed two one-hit innings of relief and Kirby Yates (Rays) notched his first save despite struggling through the ninth, surrendering two runs on three hits.